Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - question

(questions, questioning, questioned) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. A question is something that you say or write in order to ask a person about something. They asked a great many questions about England... The President refused to answer further questions on the subject... N-COUNT: oft N about/on n 2. If you question someone, you ask them a lot of questions about something. This led the therapist to question Jim about his parents and their marriage... VERB: V n • questioning The police have detained thirty-two people for questioning. N-UNCOUNT 3. If you question something, you have or express doubts about whether it is true, reasonable, or worthwhile. It never occurs to them to question the doctor’s decisions... VERB: V n 4. If you say that there is some question about something, you mean that there is doubt or uncertainty about it. If something is in question or has been called into question, doubt or uncertainty has been expressed about it. There’s no question about their success... The paper says the President’s move has called into question the whole basis of democracy in the country... With the loyalty of key military units in question, that could prove an extraordinarily difficult task. N-SING: with supp, also prep N 5. A question is a problem, matter, or point which needs to be considered. But the whole question of aid is a tricky political one... N-COUNT: oft N of n/wh 6. The questions in an examination are the problems which are set in order to test your knowledge or ability. That question did come up in the examination. N-COUNT 7. see also questioning, cross-question, leading question, trick question 8. The person, thing, or time in question is one which you have just been talking about or which is relevant. Add up all the income you’ve received over the period in question. PHRASE: n PHR 9. If you say that something is out of the question, you are emphasizing that it is completely impossible or unacceptable. For the homeless, private medical care is simply out of the question... PHRASE: v-link PHR c darkgreen]emphasis 10. If you pop the question, you ask someone to marry you. (JOURNALISM INFORMAL) Stuart got serious quickly and popped the question six months later. = propose PHRASE: V inflects 11. If you say there is no question of something happening, you are emphasizing that it is not going to happen. As far as he was concerned there was no question of betraying his own comrades... There is no question of the tax-payer picking up the bill for the party. PHRASE: V inflects, PHR -ing, PHR n -ing c darkgreen]emphasis 12. If you do something without question, you do it without arguing or asking why it is necessary. ...military formations, carrying out without question the battle orders of superior officers. PHRASE: PHR after v 13. You use without question to emphasize the opinion you are expressing. He was our greatest storyteller, without question. PHRASE: PHR with cl c darkgreen]emphasis